Feb. 18, 2007 – People Are People

So, I told my boss the other day. His (nearly) exact words were, “Fuck you for leaving, but I understand.” He said that he has done his traveling and so has his wife. They both, before they met, took trips across the country. So, yes. He understands why I need to go. I’ve lived my whole life here in Austin and it’s time to go for a bit.

My general manager also knows. While he hates to lose me for so long, he is also pretty supportive. It’s a little bit amazing that these guys just met me and they’re being all supportive like this. My boss even said to keep his card with me and call him if I need anything on the road.

In other news, I just got a key component to my trip: a camper shell.

I had been looking online for one for a little while with no luck. Well, I take that back: I had had luck in FINDING them, but no luck in having people call me back. Bastards.

All that changed when I told a buddy at work that I needed one and he told me that one of his buddies had just sold his truck and still had the camper shell sitting in his barn. And he thought it came off of the same kind of truck that I have. And he thought it’s in pretty damn good condition.

Well, things looked bad when this guy’s buddy told me that one of his buddies (the one who bought the truck) wanted the shell. But he just wouldn’t come pick it up. He was getting a little frustrated, so he was definitely thinking about just selling it to me. But he said that he would talk to his buddy and see what was up and call me back.

When I didn’t get a call back, I got worried. So, I finally called him back and, well….here’s our conversation in a highly paraphrased nutshell:

Me: So, man. What’s up with that camper shell?
Him: Well, I talked to him and he keeps saying, ‘Yeah, man, I sure do want that thing.’ But he ain’t pickin’ it up and I don’t see where he has a place to put it.
Me (getting a bit depressed): Yeah.
Him: How long you gonna be gone?
Me: About six months.
Him: Wow. That is a long time. Well, I tell you what, this thing can go to better use with you than sitting in my barn. Why don’t you come out here, check it out, we’ll make sure it fits on your truck. If you want to take it, take it. When you get back, give me a call and you can bring it back to me or I’ll sell it to you then.

Lights shined, naked angels sang and the God Of Travelers smiled.

I went out to pick it up this weekend and it fit perfectly. It’s not the same color as my truck, but beggars can’t be choosers, especially when things are free.

And, hell, if I had bought it new I don’t think things would have worked out as well as they did. It may not be the same color, but it’s a VERY complimentary color. So much so that it helped me name my truck after about five years of having no name for it.

You see, my truck is red. The camper is black. It took me a while to figure out a red and black super hero. Then I went to a friend’s house and they were watching Hellboy.

That’s right. My truck is now Hellboy. It’s less cliche than Helen Wheels, but it still shows a bit of my personality.

I love it.

And, hopefully, it’s the beginning of a long and fruitful partnership that keeps both of us safe on the long road ahead.

This is a great start to my trip. I just got a free camper shell. That has to be a good sign, right? It has to show that I’m going to have great luck on this trip, right?

I hope so. It’s time for something to start going right for me.

I also talked to a friend who has done this sort of thing before. She told me that hostels aren’t worth it and sleeping in your car on the side of the road is….ok. Not ideal, but it’s ok. (Of course, now that I’ve put the color of my car on the web it’s probably not so safe anymore.) The most she ever had happen was a cop coming along making sure that she wasn’t some drunk who had driven off the side of the road.

Sweet!

I don’t plan on doing this a lot, but it’s an option. And, considering that I’m doing this in the warm time, it should be fine. We’ll see, though.

She also told me that, for the most part, people are good. There are some assholes out there (especially in Maine, apparently), but most people will help out a struggling traveler. She did some possibly stupid things, but they always turned out ok. (Things like talking to folks at a bar in one big city and then going home with them for a place to stay.)

Hopefully, I prove her right. I may not just go home with random strangers, but I will need to turn to others from time to time. And I hope that they are there for me.

I guess we’ll find out, though.